Joshua Wurman, director of the Center for Severe Weather Research, gives us a glimpse of what it's like to conduct research on snowstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and other severe storms. The Doppler-on-Wheels was integral to the success of VORTEX2, the largest scientific project in history to study tornadoes. VORTEX2 scientists followed tornadoes in the U.S. Midwest in May and June 2009 and 2010.

Credit: Harrison Miller, National Science Foundation

Eye-to-eye with a storm: the Doppler-on-Wheels (DOW) stands tall against the elements.